History/Archive

New Directions in the American Landscape has been a pioneering influence in bringing ecology to the fore of landscape design.

Since 1990, our annual two-day conference, co-sponsored by the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania and the Connecticut College Arboretum, has been a fixture in the landscape design and management fields. Workshops and field sessions have supplemented the annual symposium.

NDAL has changed and is changing how things are done in the landscape profession. With unique vision and dedication, NDAL continues to inspire diverse practitioners. As one landscape architect said who regularly attends the annual conference, “I go home inspired.”

Key moments in NDAL’s legacy appear in the contextual timeline below, situating these moments within the field’s larger historical context.

A full line-up of NDAL’s past programming can be viewed and downloaded below (you’ll need Adobe Reader).

2012 |Conversations Across Fields: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Ecological Landscape Design — NDAL deliberately pushes the envelope, offering in-depth explorations of overlooked and forward-looking topics not available elsewhere. Designers are often asked to present on emerging or unknown aspects of their work. Speakers and attendees alike commend this format: it enables presenters to refine developing ideas with an informed audience, and students and new professionals benefit from demonstration of process.

2001 | Expressing Nature and Culture in a Designed Landscape — For years, NDAL’s annual conferences were one of the few forums offering in-depth explorations of ecology and design. The 2000 conference featured presentations by such pioneering practitioners as Leslie Sauer, James Patchett, and Gerould Wilhelm.

2000 | The Art and Science of Natural Landscape Design — For years, NDAL’s annual conferences were one of the few forums offering in-depth explorations of ecology and design. The 2000 conference featured presentations by such pioneering practitioners as Leslie Sauer, James Patchett, and Gerould Wilhelm.